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znModerator"Historically we don't do top 30 visits..
There's a little strategy there because you don't want teams to know who you're interested in..
We like to go & meet the player on their campus..
We did 66 private meetings with players during this draft cycle" ~ Les Snead #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/Syd0LnuvNi
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) April 28, 2026
znModeratorWhy Rams, Ty Simpson lied about meetings before NFL draft: ‘Stayed on script’
Vincent Bonsignore
https://nypost.com/2026/04/28/sports/why-la-rams-ty-simpson-stayed-silent-on-predraft-meetings/
The Rams‘ interest in Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson was always much deeper than they let on.
But the signs of their infatuation were always there. Like when they sent their southeast area scout as their lone representative to Simpson’s pro day in Tuscaloosa last month.
Nothing against Billy Johnson at all. He’s very good at what he does. That’s evidenced by the talent the Rams keep pumping into their building every year.
But in contrast to the Raiders, who sent an army of executives and coaches to Fernando Mendoza’s pro day in Indiana, the Rams went as minimally as possible for Simpson.
It was a classic head fake to downplay their intentions with the Crimson Tide quarterback. Not so much to their fans, but to the handful of teams across the NFL that needed a quarterback.
The esteem the NFL holds for Rams general manager Les Snead and head coach Sean McVay is so high that when they see potential in a prospect, especially a quarterback, other teams will want that prospect too.
The Jets and Cardinals come to mind. Both passed on Simpson with the picks they held at No. 2 and No. 3, with the idea of potentially selecting him later in the first round or early in the second.
Concerned that those teams might learn of their interest in Simpson, and perhaps trade up in the draft to snag him before their first pick at No. 13, the Rams kept their courtship of Simpson decidedly low-key.
That included the clandestine meeting Simpson recently revealed he had with Rams head coach Sean McVay and general manager Les Snead in the days leading up to the draft. In that meeting, McVay and Simpson conversed for multiple hours.
“They talked football at a high level,” Snead said during an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show.
Remember, Simpson completely downplayed his pre-draft interactions with the Rams shortly after they selected him in the first round last Thursday.
“It was really brief, to be honest with you,” Simpson said at the time. “I met with some scouts in Alabama, and that was really it. They talked to my agent, but that really wasn’t much.”
Simpson completely reversed course this week during an appearance on ESPN’s “Amber and Ian” show, finally admitting that he and the Rams not only had a far deeper connection than many assumed, but that they wanted to keep those feelings as confidential as possible.
“We tried to keep this under wraps as long as we could,” Simpson said during his radio hit. “It was something to where I knew they were interested, but they wanted to make it private and didn’t want people to know that they were interested.
“So, I had some secret meetings with Coach McVay, and I just was trying to be on script and do what everybody told me and not to tell anybody.”
“He stayed on script,” Snead said.
The interactions with McVay are of particular importance, given his stoic demeanor during his post-first-round media availability on Thursday. To some pundits, it gave the impression that McVay did not support the Rams’ decision to use such a high draft pick on a player that might not see the field until 2028.
Nothing could be further from the truth, of course. Anyone who knows the relationship between McVay and Snead, and the collaborative manner in which they make personnel decisions, knows Snead would have never selected Simpson or anyone else at that point in the draft unless McVay was completely on board.
Turns out, McVay and Simpson had been building a relationship for a while now. No surprise that the son of a college football coach would vibe as well as he did with McVay during their private meeting.
“It was just straight football. And it was like a kid in a candy store,” Simpson said. “Me and him are sitting there, and we’re just going back and forth. You can tell the obsession he has for the game, and you can tell the love he has for quarterback play.
“It’s something that I appreciate, and it’s something that I enjoy because I really enjoy playing the position and value the position. So, being with him and then getting to know him and then just seeing a little bit of how I would get coached if I was fortunate enough to go there was something that I couldn’t have asked for a better situation.”
znModeratorWho are the best teams in the league now that the NFL Draft is done?@colincowherd breaks it down in his latest Herd Hierarchy pic.twitter.com/PUhhZfe6TU
— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) April 28, 2026
znModeratorI certainly dont understand how drafting ‘players who should contribute two or three years’ later equals ‘stockpiling additional cheap contracts.’
It just means rookie contracts are cheaper.
But you’re right, it’s not all that illuminating since–as the Rams are about to demonstrate (after this season)–then, you have to pay them.
znModeratorcj daniels vs generational leonard moore pic.twitter.com/ugwn0xZGcP
— 𝓿1𝓷𝓬𝔁𝓷𝓽💎 (@v2aktivee) April 27, 2026
znModeratorPeter Schrager@PSchrags
One big talking point from this Draft is the teams that took their guys and trusted “their” boards vs “consensus”.Bears, Rams, Jags, and most notably — 49ers — had the largest Deltas between their picks and where the Consensus Big Boards listed.
All playoff teams in ’25
znModeratorCameron DaSilva@camdasilva
Adam Schefter says the Rams wanted to trade down and take Ty Simpson later, but “got no offers” for the 13th pick.(fwiw, Jeremy Fowler says the Rams “received trade calls” so idk)
znModeratorTy Simpson pick explained
Jourdan Rodrigue
If there is one thing I’ve learned about the NFL Draft, it’s that everyone is going to argue about it for weeks afterward.
That’s where I come in: I’m not here to change your opinions, but to talk to you about the process behind some of the more interesting moves and trends you watched throughout this year’s draft, and to highlight a few of my favorite classes.
Let’s get right into it and start with the draft’s biggest surprise:
In case you aren’t tired of reading about what I’m calling “Grumpy Gate” — Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay’s sour body language in a news conference after the team selected Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson at pick No. 13 on Thursday night — allow me to make a few notes as someone who once spent a season and an offseason inside the team’s scouting department:
• The Rams do not pick players McVay does not emphatically want, especially in early rounds. He always has a significant say over the first pick they make, after dialogue with and ultimate agreement from general manager Les Snead. McVay may get impatient during the process, and so may Snead — but neither unilaterally makes picks. Both coach and GM would have had to be completely on board for this to happen.
• I do believe McVay was attempting to downplay the pick in general, with reigning MVP Matthew Stafford in mind. McVay wants to be respectful to Stafford, which he has since said publicly, and to avoid the impression that he has put a timer on the rest of Stafford’s career. Unsaid: The two sides have not yet fully agreed on Stafford’s adjusted contract, although a league source said progress has been made.
No, McVay didn’t have to go that far with his mannerisms to show Stafford that respect. Yes, he came off poorly. I have to think that McVay also could have been projecting some defensiveness about the pick in light of the instant reaction to it, and/or something personal could have happened behind the scenes (he alluded to this in a couple of interviews during the coverage of the second and third days of the draft).
I am certain, based on conversations with league and team sources plus a recent conversation with McVay, that he is very high on Simpson. So is Snead. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport also reported before the draft began that Snead has a relationship with Simpson’s father, who is a college coach, and even was among the voices who told Simpson he could go as early as the first round of this year’s draft.
Ty Simpson told ESPN Radio on Monday that he secretly met with McVay before the draft. That is significant because neither Snead nor McVay typically meets with any prospects, and they don’t attend the scouting combine or other pre-draft events.
Picking him at No. 13 was still a surprise to me, however. The Rams could have addressed upcoming tackle and receiver needs, or they could have traded back for more picks.
• Simpson is a developmental prospect with traits the Rams like but who needs plenty of reps and time behind Stafford. In a best-case scenario for Stafford, Simpson and the Rams, the young quarterback will get that time. McVay stressed that Stafford, 38, will play for L.A. as long as he wants to.
• The rest of the Rams’ team-building, combined with the Simpson pick and the rest of this year’s draft class, tells a story:
After a sprint-rebuild in 2023 and postseason runs in 2024 and 2025, the Rams turned back to the picks-for-players model that helped them win Super Bowl LVI as this offseason began. They recently swapped their other first-round pick in this class for top cornerback Trent McDuffie and then extended him with a four-year, $124 million contract. That already told me that they weren’t stockpiling ammunition for the 2027 quarterback class, like many believed. They also signed free agent cornerback Jaylen Watson to a three-year, $51 million deal and could soon extend priority players out of a strong 2023 draft class.
They will be all-in this season to aim again for a Super Bowl, and if I’m studying their previous pattern in this mode, that could mean more moves may come, and more future picks would be in play, just as they were before the trade deadline in 2021. The Rams previously traded all of their first-round picks up to 2024, all between 2019 and 2021, to help win their last championship.
If that happens, they had better be cost-controlled at quarterback after going all-in this year, and/or on the other side of Stafford’s window — whenever that may be. (I wouldn’t bet that window closes quickly as he seems to hit a new level of play each time he’s challenged by some outside force, which makes this draft pick even more of a risk.) This and last year’s draft classes both hint at a team identifying players who should contribute two or three years into their career, not immediately — therefore stockpiling additional cheap contracts.
Enter Simpson, who shouldn’t play this season. But if he does within the four seasons following 2026, he will help keep the rest of the roster financially competitive because he’ll be on his rookie contract (he’ll have a fifth-year option available as a first-round pick). If the Rams can develop him like they say they can, the team has a higher floor in a post-Stafford era.
That’s a lot … a lot … of “ifs” for a top-15 pick, and a quarterback no less.
znModeratorLouis Riddick@LRiddickESPN
Time for the 5th annual list of my favorite non-first round prospects (tried to NOT select obvious 2nd rounders as well) from each team in the 2026 draft that could be a significant contributor/starter within the next 2-3 yearsScroll down to the #Rams selection of WR CJ Daniels in the 6th round. The Rams know how to identify and develop WR’s. Just look at their history. They also added OT Keagan Trost from Missouri. Mizzou’s wide zone run scheme is just like the Rams’, who led the #NFL with 5.5 yds/rush on such runs in 2025.
Don’t get caught up in the “but they didn’t help out Stafford” bs, because the truth is, they DID help him.
znModeratordug up by Elvis
A list of remaining available NFL Free Agents: pic.twitter.com/w3y5IjiHb3
— Mike Clay (@MikeClayNFL) April 27, 2026
znModeratorMASSIVE BOMBSHELL on CNN. Axios Senior Media Reporter Sara Fischer exposes how CBS's parent company literally paid Donald Trump a $16 MILLION settlement and canceled shows just to appease his administration for regulatory merger approval. The corruption is blatant! pic.twitter.com/dW2KWgqI5A
— Furkan Gözükara (@FurkanGozukara) April 27, 2026
znModeratorIan (Rams Up Podcast)@RamsUp_Ian
Wow!New #Rams QB Ty Simpson said he had a secret meeting with Sean McVay before the Draft for “hours and hours”!
Per: @sarahbarshopJackson Durham@JDurham_FBall
Very interesting, Ty Simpson spoke on the radio with ESPN today about pre-draft process with the RamsznModeratorhe keeps tabs. has a chip on his shoulder. there’s a certain level of bradyesque psychopathy to him. if it’s real, it can only be a good thing. not in terms of being a well rounded human being. but in terms of professional athletics, it should be a benefit.
That’s very well said. It’s all probably true too. About Simpson, and about the type. But mostly I just liked the way you said it.
“bradyesque psychopathy” is one of the great phrases in Huddle board history.
…
znModeratorSo I’ll take him over Ryan Leaf.
Well I don’t go THAT far.
znModeratori’m still not convinced it was the right decision. just a wait and see approach at this point.
I am. They like the guy and they treated the 13th pick as a luxury for the future. They got the pick because they traded the 2025 #1 rather than take Ferguson there, and then got Ferguson anyway.
The Rams are not conventional with draft picks.
They trade up. They trade down. They trade away picks for both name players (Stafford) and guys who hadn’t come through yet (Dotson). And they don’t care if they “reach.” They can afford to “reach” because they have a high powered offense that does not include a single player they drafted themselves in the first round. And that’s because they score higher in the lower rounds than pretty much anybody.
Just my 2 cents. No doubt we will be discussing this issue for years!
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znModeratorPeople seem to believe he is a mid-level guy, but I’m okay with that.
My own take? Some things about him point to a “mid-level guy.” But some things point to him being more than that.
Football IQ plus fast processing under fire plus accuracy plus very good feet/movement plus toughness (he had a terrible OL at Alabama)…plus intangibles.
He could be a “Brock Purdy Plus.” I don’t know how many “plusses.”
I am optimistic about the guy and will need to see some bad stuff in games to lose that view.
znModeratorI’m a fan of this guy already.
Hear, hear. Me too.
The more that comes out about him, the more interesting he gets.
Let’s put it this way. The Rams are arguably one of the 2 or 3 best teams at getting players out of lower round picks. And that team, the team that is good at finding Kyren Wms, Nacua, McClendon, and Quentin Lake etc in round 5 or lower, traded 3 picks just to move up 10 spots to land this guy in the 6th round.
That’s how much they wanted him.
Daniels has elite ball skills and strong hands at the point of the catch. His play with contested catches is as good as Nacua’s, and that’s one of Nacua’s defining strengths. He has well-tuned technical route-running and a high football IQ. He gets separation through crafty technique and quickness rather than just speed. He can block. He’s a competitor. He’s this eerie combination of Adams and Nacua. I don’t think he’s that far from being an ideal Rams 3rd down receiver.
znModerator3rd of 3 articles I just posted (the previous 2 are in the same post above).
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Why CJ Daniels became Rams’ wide receiver target in 2026 NFL Draft
Nate Atkins
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7232488/2026/04/27/rams-wide-receiver-cj-daniels-nfl-draft/
INGLEWOOD, Calif. — The Los Angeles Rams spent seven rounds of this year’s NFL Draft looking for the right spot to do what many expected them to.
“If the Rams are going to pick,” general manager Les Snead said, “there’s always a receiver that we’re going, ‘This guy or a receiver?’”
Added director of scouting Nicole Blake, “You didn’t think they were going to leave the draft without a receiver, did you?”
And in the sixth round, Miami’s CJ Daniels became their pick.
It arrived after resisting the urge on USC’s Makai Lemon in the first round to draft a quarterback of the future in Alabama’s Ty Simpson at No. 13. It happened after a Day 2 of weighing four different wide receiver targets and instead drafting Ohio State tight end Max Klare at No. 61 and Missouri offensive lineman Keagen Trost at No. 93.
But this is a franchise with a history of pursuing wide receivers outside of the first round. In 2017, the Rams waited until the third round to take Cooper Kupp, and he became a Triple Crown winner and the hero of a Super Bowl. In 2023, they delayed until the fifth round to take Puka Nacua, and he just led the NFL with 129 receptions.
Daniels arrives later than those two did, in a year with high expectations after the Rams narrowly lost in the NFC Championship Game and with reigning MVP Matthew Stafford returning for another season. But in the end, the selection of Daniels felt more like fate than a gut reaction.
Last fall, the Rams held a scouting meeting to review various prospects. When Daniels came up, Blake said Rams national scout Anthony Robinson told the room, “This kid is a Ram.”
Coach Sean McVay has a type at the position he played at Miami (Ohio) and that he has since built his Rams offenses around. He often looks for players who can make plays after the catch, like Kupp and Nacua became famous for. He also looks for strong blockers in the run game. And this year, he was evaluating all potential draft picks through another lens.
“What you’ll see is if you’re not tough, you won’t play for us,” McVay said two days before the draft.
And so they became drawn to Daniels, who made the tough contested catches to lift Miami on a run to the national championship game. They found a marriage with a receiver who blocked more than he ran routes in one of the sport’s most physical and run-first offenses.
They liked him enough to make their only draft trade up, where they turned three picks into one to move up 10 spots from No. 207 to No. 197 to take him. For Daniels, getting picked was going to be a relief. But getting picked by this coach, with this quarterback, in this offense took the emotions to a higher level.
“It’s one of those things that I’ve always wanted in my life,” Daniels said. “It was a surreal moment. … It’s going to be great. Playing with Matthew Stafford, a guy that’s been in the league for a while. He knows the game in and out. Also playing with Ty is definitely going to be a great deal.”
Daniels has been studying NFL receivers to prepare for this transition. And now, in Davante Adams and Nacua, he’ll get to play with two of them.
“Davante is someone that I’ve always looked up to,” Daniels said. “He’s a guy that I’ve always tried to model my game after, my releases, how he plays the game of football, and I’ve definitely watched a lot of Puka. I saw he was a fifth-round draft pick. I saw everything he was capable of doing, whether it was in a run game or pass game. He’s just a very dynamic player. I can’t wait to be a part of that group.”
Adams has been known for taking younger receivers under his wing. It was one of the many traits that drew the Rams to him a year ago. Last season, he built a close bond with Konata Mumpfield, whom the Rams selected in the 2025 seventh round.
Daniels arrives in a competition with Mumpfield, Jordan Whittington and Xavier Smith for playing time in what is looking more and more like a limited initial role. The Rams took Klare in the second round to double down on the three-tight-end sets they ran at a higher rate than any team in the league last season. After Adams led the league in touchdown catches and Nacua in receptions, and with a heavy run focus with Kyren Williams and Blake Corum, the role for a third receiver has a ceiling on volume.
But it can still be a high-impact role in other ways. The Rams spent one-third of their regular-season games last year without either Adams or Nacua. Adams is turning 34 in December and just spent a season managing hamstring and knee issues. Nacua plays a high-volume, physical style that constantly exposes him to hits.
And more than producing a big stat line, what the Rams need in a third receiver is moments of impact, because they expect to be in those moments again in the playoffs. And last season, they didn’t find many moments in three playoff games from wide receivers not named Adams or Nacua.
In the NFC Championship Game against the Seattle Seahawks, they needed one to step up on a third-and-goal from the 6 when Adams was covered as the initial read, but rookie tight end Terrance Ferguson couldn’t break open and Mumpfield couldn’t reel in a pass as the third option, and the Rams lost 31-27 to end their season.
Daniels will have to work toward that moment. He doesn’t arrive with exceptional speed after running a 4.58-second 40-yard dash at his pro day. He did not produce a 100-yard receiving game in his final two college seasons and finished with 557 yards and seven touchdowns in 13 games last year.
He does have a profile reminiscent of Nacua’s when he entered the draft, but Nacua is also an outlier who has exploded as a pro. Daniels is a 6-foot-2, 202-pound receiver who had the competitive fire to make key plays in the College Football Playoff.
“He fits a lot of the things that we were looking for in the offense,” Rams assistant general manager John McKay said. “He runs routes at a high level. He has a great feel for the game. He has a big catch radius and strong hands.
“For us, it was a great fit, and we felt like he was one of the last ones still available that could really impact our team this year and moving forward. … If you would’ve told me on Monday that was how it played out, I would’ve been very happy.”
It’s on Daniels and the Rams to accelerate the growth in a year with championship goals. But their new wide receiver is energized to put in that work.
“They are going to get an ultimate teammate,” Daniels said. “They are going to get a guy that wants to come in and just be the best version of myself each and every day and make my teammates better, a guy that just wants to make plays and do whatever I can to make the quarterback’s job as easy as possible.”
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znModeratorRams have followed CJ Daniels, who modeled his game after Davante Adams, for a while
Wyatt Miller
INGLEWOOD, Calif. – In lieu of standard top 30 visits, the Rams usually send a high-level scout to meet in-person with draft prospects they are interested in. Miami (Fla.) wide receiver CJ Daniels one of them, he told reporters on Saturday, having a formal meeting with an assistant general manager at the school two weeks ago.
“I know the Rams, they’ve been following my game for a while since I’ve been at Liberty University and LSU,” Daniels said. “So it’s really just a dream come true man. I really couldn’t see myself being a part of any other organization.”
Daniels already had a hat with the Rams’ new logo on it during his introductory zoom press conference, just minutes after being drafted 197th overall by Los Angeles. It traded the 207th, 251st and 252nd overall picks in the 2026 draft to the Eagles in order to move up and select Daniels.
It’s a moment he won’t ever forget.
“Everything that I’ve ever wanted in my life just came to life,” Daniels said. “It was a surreal moment.”
Daniels is very familiar with the Rams’ wide receiver room. He models his game, specifically his releases, after Davante Adams and has watched a lot of film on Puka Nacua. Being part of a unit like that is the type of opportunity he’s dreamed about. He also expressed his excitement to play with quarterbacks Matthew Stafford and Ty Simpson.
After transferring three times in his college career, Daniel’s journey to the NFL wasn’t a linear one. He spent four seasons at Liberty, then one at LSU before helping Miami to the national championship game in 2025. His resilience and ability to learn new systems during his six-year NCAA career have helped him prepare for the pros.
“Being at three schools, I really learned a lot about myself,” Daniels said. “I learned that I’m just driven with the process. I’m driven to get to this goal where I’m at today, and I didn’t let nothing get in the way, battled a bunch of adversity. I’ve been through a lot, and I learned that I thrive in events of adversity for sure.”
The Rams value fortitude in the face of hardship. That’s a trait Daniels prizes and will continue to lean on as he works to earn a spot in Los Angeles.
“My goal is really to be the best version of myself, be the best teammate I can be, earn coaches’ trust,” he said. “… But I’m gonna take it one day at a time, and definitely give my all for special teams, whatever it takes to get the job done.”
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…from CJ Daniels’ Superpower: Elite Hands
Wyatt Miller
https://www.therams.com/news/cj-daniels-superpower-elite-hands-nfl-draft-2026
Most NFL draft picks have at least one trait that defines their game and makes them attractive to scouts and coaches. The consensus opinion of those players’ top strengths by Rams general manager Les Snead and his staff are called their “superpowers.”
The Rams selected Miami wide receiver CJ Daniels with the 197th overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, trading up 10 spots to get him. He was a sixth-year senior last year who played at a different school in each of the past three seasons.
According to his college stats and film, elite hands were Daniels’ superpower. Here are some metrics, highlights and quotes showcasing that skill set.
Over the past two years, Daniels caught 92 passes and dropped two, according to Pro Football Focus. That’s a drop rate of 2.1%, which ranks first among qualified FBS wide receivers that were drafted in 2026.
In that same span, he caught 17 of 24 contested targets, according to PFF. That’s a 70.8% contested-catch rate, which ranks second among qualified FBS wide receivers that were drafted in 2026.
When the ball goes Daniels’ way, he’s more-than-likely coming down with it.
Against Stanford, Daniels went up and over a defender to haul in a touchdown catch from quarterback Carson Beck on a goal-line fade.
CJ Daniels has been a monster at the catch point his entire career
63% career success rate pic.twitter.com/Qsaob4OBji
— NFL Draft Files (@NFL_DF) October 26, 2025
“He’s somebody that we had eyes on early in the fall and followed. We had appreciation for him throughout the process. When he started to fall today, we moved up ten spots to pick him. He fits a lot of the things that we were looking for in the offense. He runs routes at a high level. He has a great feel for the game. He has a big catch radius and strong hands. For us it was a great fit and we felt like he was one of the last ones still available that could really impact our team this year and moving forward.” – Rams assistant general manager John McKay
“Daniels has a tremendous feel for creating catch opportunities with varied route tempo, body control and late separation tactics.” – NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein
“Daniels has proven to be a reliable pass-catcher when given the opportunity to make plays. He has the size, frame and ball skills to make a living on the outside and in contested-catch situations.” – Bleacher Report’s Damian Parson
znModeratorI think they should sign Tyreek and L’Jarius.
Maybe Travis Kelce as well.
w
vBut only when Aaron Donald comes out of retirement.
znModerator"Drafting a QB to be your backup at 13 is rich people problems."
More from @joelklatt on the Rams selecting Ty Simpson in the first round of the NFL Draft and what it means moving forward. pic.twitter.com/XdNNgmsA7t
— The Joel Klatt Show: A College Football on FOX Pod (@JoelKlattShow) April 27, 2026
znModeratorI think Diggs. Hill is coming off an ACL, I believe. Deebo is interesting.
Ari Meirov@MySportsUpdate
Among the NFL free agents still available:WR Deebo Samuel
WR Jauan Jennings
WR Tyreek Hill
WR Stefon Diggs
WR Keenan Allen
DT DJ Reader
OT Taylor Decker
TE David Njoku
G Kevin Zeitler
LB Bobby Okereke
LB Bobby Wagner
LB Matt Milano
DE Joey Bosa
DE Von Miller
DE Cameron Jordan
DE Haason Reddick
CB L’Jarius Sneed
K Daniel CarlsonImportant: Teams are now officially allowed to sign free agents without it affecting the compensatory formula.
znModeratorfrom https://www.nfldraftbuzz.com/Player/CJ-Daniels-WR-Liberty
Scouting Report: Strengths
Fluid hips and quick feet allow him to sink, snap off routes, and generate separation at the top of his breaks with consistent quickness that makes life tough on defensive backs.
Natural ball tracker who locates throws over his shoulder with ease, adjusting his body mid-stride and extending to pluck passes away from his frame at the catch point.
Put on an elite drop rate performance at LSU in 2024, recording zero drops on 42 catches and posting a 91.4 drop grade that season, showcasing dependable hands.
Willing and capable run blocker who Miami trusted as a move blocker in their screen game and pre-snap motion packages, consistently sealing off defenders in the ground attack.
Smart route runner who uses head fakes, tempo changes, and leverage manipulation to sell routes and create windows rather than relying purely on athletic traits.
Versatile alignment profile, lining up predominantly outside (83% of snaps in 2025) while also showing comfort working from the slot, giving coordinators real flexibility.
Competitive toughness shows up in contested catch situations, converting 11 of 17 contested targets at Miami for a 64.7% rate while also drawing 3 pass interference calls.
Solid yards-after-catch producer who forced 31 missed tackles across his career and racked up 5.9 YAC per reception during his monster 2023 breakout at Liberty.
Scouting Report: Weaknesses
Lacks the extra gear to pull away from coverage on vertical routes, and while his forty is respectable, his play speed doesn’t always match that number on tape.
Production took a clear step back at the Power Four level, with his yards per route run dropping from 3.94 at Liberty in 2023 to 1.32 at LSU and 1.73 at Miami.
Drop rate spiked to 9.8% during that big 2023 season at Liberty (6 drops on 61 catchable targets), and he added 2 more drops on 53 catchable balls at Miami in 2025.
Does not always attack the football aggressively at the catch point, occasionally letting the ball travel to him rather than working back toward the throw, inviting disruption.
Scouting Report: Summary
Daniels is the type of receiver who probably won’t light up a room during the pre-draft process, but put his tape on and you see a guy who understands how to play the position. His route craft is legitimate. He uses his lower body to deceive defenders, changes pace within his stems, and consistently wins out of breaks with quickness rather than raw speed. The savvy is real, and it shows up week after week regardless of the uniform he’s wearing. He’s not going to run by NFL corners on go routes, but he’ll find ways to get open on the intermediate and short areas of the field where most offenses live anyway.
The concern is always going to be whether his production translates when the competition level rises. His best statistical season came against Conference USA defenses, and the numbers took a noticeable dip at both LSU and Miami. That said, the context matters: he dealt with a foot injury at LSU, was the fourth option in a loaded receiving corps, and still caught 75% of his targets with zero drops. At Miami, he produced a solid 73.8 receiving grade while sharing the field with explosive underclassmen. He’s not a guy who needs volume to make an impact. His blocking alone makes him worth a roster spot, and the fact that he ran routes on 96.4% of Miami’s pass snaps tells you the coaching staff trusted him completely.
Here’s the deal with Daniels: he fits best in an offense that values precision over explosiveness. Concepts built around timing throws, screen packages, and route combinations that create space through design rather than pure athleticism will get the most out of him. He’s not going to be a number one target at the next level, but as a complementary piece who can block, move the chains, and give you professional route running from multiple alignments, there’s genuine day-two value here. His six years of college experience and the fact that he produced at three different programs show a player who adapts quickly and earns trust wherever he goes. That kind of reliability goes a long way on Sundays.
znModeratorIt ended on Thursday, after McVay apprised Stafford of the plan, and the Rams pushed the button on the night’s biggest surprise.
Conspiracy Theory #4: Matthew Stafford was pissed. Especially since Simpson ripped up Georgia. And he raised his voice at McVay.
And that’s what we saw.
I’m sticking with, his wife found out he was drafting a qb and not a receiver, and moved out with the children.
znModeratorAlbert Breer: https://www.si.com/nfl/albert-breer-nfl-draft-takeaways-rams-ty-simpson
Ty Simpson stands out on tape
The Rams saw things some others didn’t in Ty Simpson, and we’ll see how that turns out. And what they saw, for the most part, was based plainly on Simpson’s body of work.
That’s not a mistake either. That’s by design.
Sean McVay’s tape study began a week after the Super Bowl, and his method, when he gets going on the college quarterbacks, is to have his first exposure to them come on the film, and the film alone. Simpson was the first guy he watched. What he saw was eye-opening. Yes, the body of work—15 starts—was short. But as he and the Rams came to see it, those 15 starts had more translatable work in them than other college QBs may compile in 30.
Alabama OC Ryan Grubb put a lot on Simpson, and the Rams felt like the beneficiaries of it in the evaluation. Simpson was playing under center and off play-action. He was redirecting protections and going through full-field progressions, and activating the same sort of concepts he’d have to in their offense. You saw him in quick game and off five- and seven-step timing. You saw an NFL rhythm-and-timing passer. Drew Brees set the recent standard for that genre, and they saw Simpson, stylistically, fitting that sort of mold.
No one’s saying Simpson is going to be Brees, to be clear. But if you want to see a path to becoming a high-end NFL quarterback, that’s the one that Simpson could walk.
But maybe most of all, as I’ve heard it, they loved seeing how he got scraped up, and knocked down, and picked himself up. The Tide got beaten up in the season opener against Florida State, a loss that was taken as a referendum on everyone in the program, a year and a half after Nick Saban’s departure. But in that game, Simpson fought to his very last snap, a nine-yard run on fourth-and-10, on which he ran through three tackles. And he rebounded in the weeks to follow, putting on clinics against Wisconsin and Georgia.
Then, there was the way the season came undone, and how Simpson reacted to that. In the Tide’s 10th game, Oklahoma coach Brent Venables blew open a flaw in their empty protection, getting a free runner through consistently and creating a blueprint for others.
The Rams liked how the Bama coaches put a lot on him to begin with, and what the Sooners drew up made things even harder. Simpson kept battling, like an NFL quarterback has to.
And two throws against Auburn brought the whole thing to life.
• The first was on a third-and-4, from the Auburn 6 at the end of the first quarter. Auburn brought six. Inside linebacker Xavier Atkins came clean, and both Tiger edge rushers won quickly, giving Simpson nowhere to step up in the pocket, or to bail from it. Simpson stood in the face of pressure, flicked the ball off his back foot from the 20 to receiver Isaiah Horton, running toward the back left pylon—putting it on his outside shoulder over the top of the coverage, and just past where the corner covering Horton could play it. He knew he’d be open and put a perfect ball on him, off-balance with three defenders in his face.
• The second came with the game tied at 20, and less than four minutes left. Kalen DeBoer showed confidence in Simpson in going for it on fourth-and-2, when he could’ve kicked the go-ahead field goal, and the Auburn defense challenged him right away. The Tide had a stick concept—a two-man route—called to Simpson’s right in a three-by-two look. At the snap, the Tigers had the two receivers to that side covered with three guys. Simpson quickly reset, and got the ball to the third guy in his progression, Horton again running a drag from the opposite side. Not only that, he put the ball on Horton’s front pad, into a short window.
Simpson did that, by the way, on a rough day for the Bama offense, one with a mess of drops from his receivers. He got hit a lot, too. He easily could’ve folded. Instead, he squared his jaw, maintained his body language and kept playing quarterback—which is a key to this, too.
The Rams kept seeing him do just that, and there’s a bit of dying art to playing that way at the college level, which is what made watching Simpson so refreshing for some teams and coaches (and my guess would be that’s what ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky was seeing, too). They could see him reading plays out with his feet, playing with rhythm, getting deep into progressions, anticipating windows coming open and unloading the ball on time.
Now, that’s not to say there wasn’t more work done. The input of the ex-quarterbacks on the staff—Kliff Kingsbury, Dave Ragone and Nathan Scheelhaase—was an invaluable part of the process. The background work was, too, with Crimson Tide sport psychologist Bhrett McCabe allaying concerns over the anxiety Simpson was thought to have battled, telling the Rams that the quarterback was simply a very conscientious kid who cares a lot, while touting his capacity for growth in that area (“He’ll calm down,” he told them) and his resilience.
But where this really began and ended was with what McVay, GM Les Snead and the crew saw on tape, which was a quarterback who could run their offense. Really, it started with the tape, after the reality set in that Jimmy Garoppolo probably wouldn’t return as Matthew Stafford’s backup, all the way back in March. It ended on Thursday, after McVay apprised Stafford of the plan, and the Rams pushed the button on the night’s biggest surprise.
Stafford, to be clear, is still very much the team’s present. And if things work out like that film seemed to show, they’ve now got a lot less to worry about for the future.
znModeratorthey can probably get a third wr in free agency. and then there’s always the possibility of making a trade sometime during the season depending on how the season is going.
Plus there’s a possibility to develop someone on hand—Whittington, Mumpfield, Daniels. They had the 1st ranked offense in terms of both points and yards last year with what they have. They lost games because of defense. So yes they can add a veteran 3rd WR, like they did with Demarcus Robinson previously, but this is not the crucial “do or die” factor, CB was that for 2026.
znModeratorLB Nikhai Hill-Green – Alabama | LA may have found its off-ball pass-defending linebacker. This solid prospect made it a point to play in a wide range of defensive schemes, improving along the way. His pre-draft interview gives off great football-passion vibes
My favorite Rams UDFA signing thus far.
Plays the ball 100mph like a psychopath. Batted balls, just gets involved. Excited to see em work at camp. https://t.co/DVen4vcRwE
— 1st & Tuna 🏈 (@1standtuna) April 26, 2026
znModeratorinvader, did you mean to post a ZZ Top vid? Or is that an accident?
Not saying you can’t post ZZ Top vids. Just wondering if that’s what you meant to do.
Was that a reference to the “does Simpson have legs and know how to use them” discussion?
znModeratorThe Los Angeles Rams addressed their offensive line in the third round on Friday night, selecting Keagen Trost out of Missouri at No. 93 overall. The versatile offensive lineman can play just about any position up front, so he’ll provide depth at multiple spots for the Rams.
He may not have been a highly ranked player by experts, but his performance in 2025 was outstanding. According to Pro Football Focus, he allowed just one sack and six total pressures last season, earning a 92.4 offensive grade from the outlet.
The NFL Network broadcast noted that there were only two offensive players in the FBS who were graded higher than Trost in 2025: Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love and Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin.
Both were Heisman finalists, and Love was the third overall pick in this year’s draft. That’s the company Trost kept last year.
His run-blocking grade of 91.7 was first among offensive tackles, as was his 92.4 overall grade. He can both pass protect and block in the run game, which makes him a well-rounded offensive lineman who can win at multiple positions.
znModeratorIn fact he may have the best legs of any decent starting qb they’ve had since I first started watching them. Not a Vick, but good enough.
Don't even remember the last time a Rams QB could move like this pic.twitter.com/WJmtiiRvNh
— Sosa Kremenjas (@QBsMVP) April 26, 2026
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